Isaiah 44:28 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

That saith of Cyrus Whom God here mentions by his proper name, two hundred years before he was born, that this might be an undeniable evidence of the exactness of God's foreknowledge, and a convincing argument to conclude this dispute between God and idols. He is my shepherd Him will I set up to be the shepherd of my people, to rescue them from wolves or tyrants, to gather them together, to rule them gently, and to provide comfortably for them. Xenophon tells us, that Cyrus used to compare kings in general, and himself in particular, to a shepherd. Cyropæd., lib. 8. And shall perform all my pleasure All that I command him to do, especially to give leave and order for the rebuilding of the city and temple of Jerusalem, as it here follows. This prophecy, which thus speaks of Cyrus by name, as foreknown and appointed by the divine counsel for the performance of the great work designed by providence, is one of the most remarkable contained in Scripture, of the same kind with that 1 Kings 13:1-2.